The real sauna can only be experienced in Finland, its country of origin. There are more than two million saunas (and only five million inhabitants) in Finland. "Sauna" is the only Finnish word which has spread into most foreign languages including English and German.

 

A Finnish sauna is totally different from the various sweat rooms found all over the world. A real sauna is a very hot (about 70-100 degrees Celsius, 160-210 degrees Fahrenheit) room in which you throw water on hot stones. Then you sit on the benches without any clothes and enjoy the purifying feeling. Males and females don't have a sauna together in Finland (except a wife and a husband).

 

For Finns the summer cottage with its sauna is the best place in the whole world. However, almost every family has an own sauna in a town, too. Nowadays even many people living in multistorey houses have own saunas. Houses have at least one sauna for the use of their inhabitants.

 

Most hotels have a sauna, sometimes also for use of non-hotel guests. We especially recommend spa hotels. Most of them have large indoor swimming pool departments, massaging showers, waterslides, saunas, steam rooms, outdoor pools and special pools for children. Usually all these activities are included in the room price which isn't higher than in other hotels. Other activities and health spa treatments are optional.

 

The Serena Indoor Aqua Park (20 kilometers from the centre of  Helsinki) has very good saunas, too. We highly recommend them to you. See http://www.serena.fi . Accommodation in Hotel Korpilampi http://www.korpilampi.com only 400 meters from Serena (very beautiful swimming pool department and nice saunas).

 

There are saunas for rent in Saunasaari (Sauna Island) http://www.saunasaari.fi/english/index_eng.html almost in the hearth of Helsinki. Rentable saunas are for 4-40 persons. There are also sauna trips for single persons.

 

Sauna Bar in Helsinki (address Eerikinkatu 27) has two saunas. The sauna must be booked in advance: http://www.saunabar.fi .

 

Public saunas in Helsinki: http://www.hel2.fi/tourism/EN/Palvelut.asp?kieli=en&ASPID=7&ASPKATEGORIA=4&a=0&page=1

 

Café Tin Tin Tango in Helsinki (address Töölöntorinkatu 7) has a self-service laundry and saunas which may be booked for 1-10 persons (at least one day before your sauna bathing, 22 euros / 1 hour / 1-2 persons, 32 euros / 1 hour / 3-10 persons). Read more: http://www.tintintango.info/sauna.htm .

 

Helsinki's Bath House: http://finland-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/helsinkis_bath_house

 

The Finnish Sauna Society (Vaskiniemi in Lauttasaari, Helsinki) has two wood-heated saunas, two special smoke saunas and also an electric city sauna. Saunas are open for Helsinki Card holders. Prebooking is obligatory.

 

Finnish Sauna Society: http://www.sauna.fi

 

Visit Finland: http://www.visitfinland.com/w5/index.nsf/(pages)/Secrets_of_the_Sauna?OpenDocument&np=A

 

 

The Ultimate World of Sauna: http://www.saunasite.com

 

Sauna words and pictures: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1895/saunat.html

 

Sauna facts in many languages: http://cankar.org/sauna/index.html

 

Sandy McCutcheon's Sauna Club: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/7708/sauna2.html

 

Sauna and its country of origin: http://www.sauna.org

 

Sauna links by TTE: http://www.tte.ch/finland/act/#84

 

Wikipedia Sauna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna

 

Saunasaari (Sauna Island) in Helsinki: http://www.saunasaari.fi/index_e.html

 

Sauna Bathing World Championships: http://www.saunaheinola.com and http://k-systems.fi/www/saunaheinola.com/wb/pages/en/sivut1/home.php

 

All Scandinavia: http://www.allscandinavia.com/finnishsauna.htm

 

Arctic sauna adventures in Levi, Lapland: http://www.immelkartano.com/english/sauna.htm

 

Enjoying a Finnish sauna: http://www.holidaycityflash.com/finland/finland_sauna.html

 

Ezine Articles (Sauna and Finland): http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Sauna-And-Finland---A-Brief-History-And-Introduction&id=505234

 

Freeman Virtual Sauna: http://www.finns.org/freeman/sauna.htm

 

Home sauna room tips: http://www.divapor.com/sauna.php

 

Home sauna tips: http://www.homesaunatips.com

 

Hotel Lapin Pohtimo in Rovaniemi (very good saunas, a swimming pool and a lounge with a fireplace and a terrace, a traditional smoke sauna on the banks of a crystal-clear lake): http://www.laplandhotels.com 

 

Hotel Palace in Helsinki (extremely good saunas): http://www.palacehotel.fi

 

Herrankukkaro (special saunas: original smoke sauna, land smoke sauna, village sauna, malt sauna - recommended for groups): http://www.herrankukkaro.fi

 

Nature & Adventure Incentive (Finnish sauna culture in Kuusamo, Lapland, also a special ice sauna): http://www.ohjelmapalvelu.com

 

Peurunka Wellnes Tourist Center (saunas, a spa, accommodation, activities): http://www.peurunkacenter.fi

 

Pure inside out: http://www.pureinsideout.com/bathing-health-sauna-finnish.html

 

Rantasalmi Holiday: http://www.jarvisydan.fi

 

Rentable Viking Sauna in Humppila: http://www.viikinkisauna.fi/?id=A638252D-75F34786813B-89741AC9CFDC

 

Ruka Safaris (sauna programmes): http://www.rukasafaris.fi/eng/index.php

 

Sauna Party: http://www.saunaparty.net

 

Sauna sounds by Michael Fletcher: http://www.kolumbus.fi/michael.fletcher/sauna.htm

 

Sauna village and sauna museum in Muurame: http://www.muurame.fi/saunakyla/

 

Serena Indoor Aqua Park (the biggest indoor water park in Europe): http://www.serena.fi

 

Spa holidays with sauna bathing: http://groups.msn.com/FinlandTravelClub/spaholidays.msnw

 

Sweat bathing: http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/sweat.htm

 

Tampere Sauna Society: http://www.sci.fi/~aris/saunas/english.html

 

The original Finnish sauna: http://www.ruthvilmi.net/hut/Project/Culture/Sauna/sauna.html

 

The Washington Post (Finland Diary: sauna): http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/finlanddiary/2005/06/the_finnish_sau.html

 

The Worldwide Traveler: http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/travel/europe/scandinavia/finland-sauna.htm

 

Universitas Helsingiensis: http://www.helsinki.fi/lehdet/uh/498b.htm

 

Uralic family home page: http://uralica.com/sauna.htm

 

Virtual Finland (The sauna as a national symbol): http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/sauna.html

 

Virtual Finland (Bare facts of the sauna): http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/saunajuttu.html

 

Washington Times: http://www.internationalspecialreports.com/archives/99/finland/26.html

 

Waterfront saunas for rent in Espoo (near the city of Helsinki): http://www.espootravel.com/xsl_taso2.asp?path=5687;5910;8547;10007

 

Welness & Sauna World: http://www.hallansaaga.fi/index_uk.htm